


knit up the ravelled sleeve of care (the Kind of Blue Remix)

by heyjupiter



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Gen, M/M, Remix, remix madness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-23
Updated: 2012-04-23
Packaged: 2017-11-04 04:55:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/389970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heyjupiter/pseuds/heyjupiter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erik has the flu. Raven does her best to help Charles stay sane under these difficult circumstances.</p>
            </blockquote>





	knit up the ravelled sleeve of care (the Kind of Blue Remix)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [coffeesuperhero](https://archiveofourown.org/users/coffeesuperhero/gifts).
  * Inspired by [knit up the ravelled sleeve of care](https://archiveofourown.org/works/315812) by [coffeesuperhero](https://archiveofourown.org/users/coffeesuperhero/pseuds/coffeesuperhero). 



Raven isn't a telepath, but she can still sense that Charles is hovering outside her bedroom door. She sighs and calls out, "Come in!" As soon as she sees Charles's face she says, "Whoa, hey, what's wrong?" She knows he'd been disappointed that their recruitment mission hadn't gone as planned--the little mutant boy's parents had refused to send their son off with two strangers who claimed to have a private school--but overall it hadn't been too bad. The boy's parents took care of him, which was more than they could say for plenty of the mutant kids they saw. So something must have happened between landing the jet and right now to make Charles's face look like this.

Charles says, "What? Oh. It's just, I was wondering--could you make some of that chicken noodle soup you used to make?"

Raven blinks twice. "That I used to make when you were sick? Is someone--" then the penny drops. "Ah. Is Erik sick?"

"I think it's just a flu, but he's _miserable_ ," Charles says glumly.

Because she loves Charles, Raven says nothing untoward about Erik's character. "I'll be in the kitchen," she says, dropping her copy of _Life_ magazine on her dresser.

Downstairs, she hums to herself as the the chicken stock boils. Giving someone chicken soup from canned broth--or, heaven help us, canned chicken noodle soup--is akin to a slap in the face, and she won't do that. Not even to Erik.

It isn't that she doesn't like Erik; she does. She especially appreciates his open-minded attitude toward her blueness. But she likes Charles more, of course, and she worries for her brother. He's dated a lot of people, but he's never been head over heels like this. Erik has Charles's heart in his hands, and she doesn't yet know if he can be trusted with such a valuable possession. But he has it, and so she tastes her broth and adds a light shake of pepper to the pot.

When the soup is ready, she turns the stove off and covers the pot. Then she stops by Charles's study. No way is she going to be the one to deliver soup to a sick, grumpy (moreso than usual) Erik. She knocks lightly, then steps in and says, "Soup's ready."

Charles looks up from his Camus and smiles at her. "Thank you, Raven."

"'Course," she says. "It's just soup. And he just has the flu. He'll be fine, Charles."

"Yes, certainly," he says, but he still looks concerned. Well, he wouldn't be her brother otherwise.

She says, "Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help," and slips back out of his study.

***

She'd said "Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help," but she thought that was generally understood to be a token phrase. She certainly had not expected to be on bedside nursing duty.

She'd heard all about what a "difficult patient" Erik was, and she'd only agreed to sit in here after Moira and Charles had swapped out all the room's metal items. Now she sat quietly on a wood-and-velvet chair and perused _Life_ magazine. She loved looking at pictures of other people. Sometimes she'd try on especially striking faces, but mostly she was content to look.

She hears Erik stir and recognizes the look of concentration on his face.

"Moira went out and bought wooden spoons, just for you," she says, closing her magazine.

"For Charles, you mean," he says, snippily.

"I know you're sick, but you should try to be nicer to Charles," she says. He grunts, and she wants to punch him. For Charles's sake she just rolls her eyes and recrosses her legs, continuing, "He's actually pretty good with sick people. When I was little, I used to get these terrible earaches, and he'd make me a hot water bottle and sit up with me all night, telling me stories or reading my favorite books. Once when I had a really high fever and I was really scared, he even sang me a song."

"How touching," Erik growls. "I don't need to be serenaded."

"And you don't need anyone to take care of you. Trust me: we get it, " Raven says. She grabs her magazine and stands up. Erik's clearly feeling all right, and she doesn't have Charles's patience. Before she stalks out of the room, she says, "But maybe Charles needs to take care of you. Think about that the next time he comes up here."

***

Raven returns to the kitchen. She makes some sandwiches and eats one standing while she waits for the teakettle to boil. Then she puts the rest of the sandwiches on a tray along with a pot of English breakfast and drops by Charles's study. She knows he's been too busy taking care of Erik to take care of himself.

When she appears in his study, Charles scolds, "Raven! You said you would wait with Erik."

"You're very welcome for the meal, Charles," she says. "Erik's fine. He sat up and growled at me."

Charles sighs. "I know he isn't exactly a model patient. But this is very hard for him."

"It's hard on all of us," Raven says wryly. "Eat a bite of something. You need to keep your strength up, too. And then go see Erik. You're the only one of us he can stand right now."

"Is--do you really think he can stand me?" Charles asks quietly.

"Charles! Of course. He loves you. How could anyone _not_ love you?"

"Well, I'd say you're a bit biased, Raven."

"No way. Sister's honor. Now drink your tea before I throw it at you."

"I think I've had enough of that in the past few days, thank you," Charles says.

"Don't worry," she says. "I made sure it's an all-ceramic cup."

"Thank you, Raven. I really do appreciate everything you've done for Erik. And for me."

""Course," Raven says. "You've done the same for me. Well, except for the soup part."

"Raven! I always made sure you had soup if you needed it."

She laughs. "Yeah, you always made those big googly eyes of yours at the housekeeper until she made some for you."

"That was doing you a favor," he protests. "You wouldn't have wanted any soup I made."

"Believe me, I know," she says. "By the way, I made another pot of broth this morning. It's in the refrigerator, if Erik decides he wants to eat something. Instead of throwing it at the wall."

"You're the best, Raven."

"I know," she says. "Now go tend Erik. He told me he wanted to see you."

"He said that?" Charles says, eyes bright.

"Well, basically," she says, and Charles practically sprints out of his study.


End file.
